Hillary Clinton, Tulsi Gabbard in war of words

Manchester: It's Hillary Clinton Vs. Tulsi Gabbard on the sidelines of the 2020 presidential race. The Hawaii congresswoman fought back unsparingly after Clinton appeared to call her "the favourite of the Russians" saying she believes the Russians have "got their eye on somebody who's currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate."

Clinton, the former senator, US secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, did not name Gabbard directly. In a series of tweets, Gabbard called Clinton the "personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long." Gabbard also alleged there has been a "concerted campaign" to destroy her reputation since she announced her presidential run in January.

"It's now clear that this primary is between you and me," Gabbard tweeted about Hillary Clinton. "Don't cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly."

There is lingering trepidation in the Democratic Party of a repeat of the 2016 presidential race, when Russia interfered in the US election in an effort to help Donald Trump defeat Clinton.

US intelligence agencies has warned Russia would meddle in the 2020 presidential election, as well. Russian President Vladimir Putin has mocked that possibility, joking earlier this month that Moscow would "definitely intervene" again.